German Chancellor Angela Merkel's allies in Bavaria stepped up criticism of her open-door refugee policy yesterday, with their leader demanding a cap of 200,000 migrants a year, about a fifth of last year's level.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's allies in Bavaria stepped up criticism of her open-door refugee policy yesterday, with their leader demanding a cap of 200,000 migrants a year, about a fifth of last year's level.

Merkel faces splits in her conservative bloc and coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) over her insistence that Germany can cope with the refugee crisis as towns struggle to house migrants, many having fled war in the Middle East and Africa.

Horst Seehofer, the combative leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria, where most migrants arriving via the Balkans enter Germany, told 'Bild am Sonntag' it was possible to integrate up to 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees a year. "Anything more than that, I think is too much," he told the paper. "The central goal for 2016 must be to limit the number of migrants. We are at the moment a long way from this goal."

Seehofer hosts Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron at a meeting of his CSU party this week in the remote resort of Wildbad Kreuth and refugees will be a big topic.

A magnet for migrants partly due to generous social benefits, Europe's biggest economy is taking in more than any other EU state. It registered 1.09 million migrants last year, a newspaper reported last week.

The CSU has long called for a cap and has repeatedly threatened to take action, such as sending refugees back to other countries. So far it has not acted on those threats and towards the end of last year, Seehofer's tone had softened.

The CSU chief also warned that Germany's budget goals were at risk if migrants kept arriving at the same rate.